I'm Amazed That I Got This Far
by ako94
Summary: The night before leaving to go help SVU with a case involving an illegal adoption ring, Halstead and Lindsay decide that cooling off wasn't as easy as they'd initially thought.
1. Chapter 1

Besides her sergeant, Hank Voight, Erin Lindsay was the only one who remained in the bullpen at the end of the day. It was too late to be at the district - almost ten at night, but there she was, sitting at her desk, trying to get herself as prepared as much possible for tomorrow .

She would be going to New York, another case popped up with the Special Victim's Unit, and she would be traveling with her partner, Jay Halstead.

Erin was scared shitless. The last time she had gone to New York on police business she had landed in the hospital with a concussion and had to leave the city early, per Voight's direct orders.

She had gone to New York with Jay before, no problem, but this time it was different. This time they had history.

The same night she had begun her first case with the federal task force, they had slept together. It had been a long time coming with the tension between them building for the past year. And after a frustrating case dealing with the life of a fellow detective's sister and a crazy pyrotechnic, Erin and Jay had done it again. They had been together behind Voight's back for close to six weeks up until Voight found out recently. Ever since then, things hadn't been the same between them.

Erin missed it. She missed him. She missed the possibility of what they could be and found herself thinking about him all the time - more than she would ever admit out loud. So much so that she just happened to find herself outside his apartment after calling it a night and finally leaving the district.

Erin only needed to knock twice before Jay opened the door. He looked at her with genuine shock seeing her standing in front of him, but he wore a warm smile on his face.

"Hey you."

Erin smiled back. "Hi."

Jay pulled his door open a bit wider. "You wanna come in?"

Erin nodded and stepped through the threshold, and then Jay closed the door behind her.

A sense of déjà vu came over Erin as she stood in the same spot from six weeks prior - when she had first kissed her partner. When things had really changed.

Jay stood in front of her, his hands on his hips. "So, what's going on?"

Erin didn't want to play games. She just wanted him.

She moved with quick intent and planted her lips on his. The familiar feel of her body pressed up against his and her soft delicate hands grasping at his neck sent a current through Jay's veins. He couldn't help the almost shudder that danced over his skin at her touch. They weren't supposed to be doing this, but Jay Halstead lost all self control when it came to Erin Lindsay.

He was almost gasping for breath when she pulled away from him.

"I don't wanna cool it, Jay," she blurted out before he could say a word.

"Erin-"

"Shut up," Erin rasped and kissed him again. It was desperate. A necessity to her being and only he could breathe the life into her that she needed so badly.

"Jay, please."

Without another word he picked her up and carried her to his bed.

The next morning, Erin Lindsay found herself waking up once again in Jay Halstead's bed with his arms wrapped tight around her small frame. It may have only been an occurrence of times she could count on one hand, but waking up in his embrace was something Erin was beginning to look forward to. It was something she was starting to crave on a more routine basis and it was something she didn't want to ever give up - not for anything or anyone.

Erin felt Jay's body shift behind hers, coming out of sleep. She felt his arm tighten around her waist just the slightest bit more and then his nose was in her hair.

"So..." Jay mumbled into her neck before he kissed below her ear.

Erin smiled at the shiver his lips delivered to her skin and turned her body to face him. Jay kept an arm draped over her, keeping her close, and they laid face to face.

Erin lifted her own arm, running a finger along his shoulder. "So..."

"I guess we're right back to square one," he observed with a slight smile.

She shook her head with a smirk, "No, this is for real. I meant it last night when I said I don't wanna cool it."

Erin leaned forward and kissed him before she whispered, "I'm in too deep with you."

Jay kissed her back and when they pulled away he held her gaze with his.

"I am too, but that doesn't mean Voight still isn't an issue. He'll never be okay with this."

Erin shrugged her shoulders. "I just don't care anymore. We'll keep doing our thing and we'll deal with the rest later. We'll deal with it together."

"Really?" Jay asked, almost giddy, with a wide smile.

Erin answered him with a nod of her head, followed by another quick kiss. She got out of bed then, leaving Jay laying there with a stupid grin still taking up his face.

"Let's go, Halstead. We've got a plane to catch."

•

"That's the right black suitcase, isn't it?" Jay Halstead asked as he and Erin walked away from the baggage claim at LaGuardia airport.

She smiled, glancing at her feet to the black case in question. "It is."

He grinned back and the two hopped on an escalator to exit the airport.

In the middle of their ride downstairs, Erin felt Jay's hand over hers. She looked down between them to see their hands clasped and their fingers laced together tightly.

Erin didn't say anything, just squeezed his hand in hers. She felt a grin of her own fill her cheeks when he tugged back. It felt right.

Once they reached the bottom they cut a left for the exit. The two detectives were about to reach the doors when they heard the familiar voices of Nick Amaro and Amanda Rollins calling out their names.

Erin and Jay turned with their hands still clenched in one another's and then they heard the loud "I knew it!" fall from the lips of the SVU detectives.

Eyes rolled as the two Chicagoans smiled and made their way over to the people who would be their coworkers for the remaining duration of the case.

•

"So you guys caught this guy in Chicago for money laundering? " Sergeant Olivia Benson of Manhattan SVU called out in the bullpen. Surrounding her, listening intently, were Erin and Jay, as well as detectives Carisi, Tutuola, Rollins and Amaro.

"Yeah," Halstead answered, snapping out of his tired, trance like state. He and Erin had left for the O'Hare at five that morning. "This guy, Mikael Karlsson showed up for money laundering, stupid amounts. We ran him through a bunch of databases, and it showed that he had an association with baby laundering here in New York."

"That's when they called us. This guy here, Mikael," Fin Tutuola interjected stepping up to the board and pointing to a mugshot, "is running an illegal adoption ring. How these work is they pose as a legitimate adoption agency and pretty much sell the children to desperate couples who can't get approved by other agencies, for whatever reason. They make the birth mother have the baby in their facility, an ill-equipped place with quack doctors, usually. We had one of these a few years back. It's probably the same sorta deal."

"So, if he's got this ring here, that illegal money he's got, is probably from another ring in Chicago?" Erin asked, putting the pieces together. They had one hell of a case here.

"That could very well be the case, there's probably undiscovered money laundering happening here and an adoption ring in Chicago." Sergeant Benson, speculated cynically, though likely correct.

Olivia had barely finished her last word when an overzealous and adamant Sonny Carisi, the newest detective to Special Victims, looked over at Halstead and Lindsay. "While you guys were on your way here, we caught a lead! We found a couple who is in the process of adopting out of the ring. They're waiting in interrogation right now."

"How did Karlsson get on SVU's radar?"

"Jake and Lindy Campbell," Amanda Rollins chimed in, "came to us a while ago about it. They were looking into adoption and came across this ring. Jake had a funny feeling meeting with these guys. Apparently he has a sister who's a social worker and when he told her about the adoption, she sort of tipped him off that it didn't sound legitimate. Anyways, the case went cold until you guys called us, so we brought them back in."

"We're gonna need the two of you to pose as this couple and arrange the...uh, transaction."

Erin and Jay shared a look of slight concern before Erin spoke. "Us?"

The entire SVU squad nodded and Olivia stepped closer to them. "Luckily, the Campbells haven't met face to face with the ring yet, they've just corresponded via email so far. Karlsson is going to get an email saying the Campbells would like to meet to be reviewed for adoption and start the process. A sting op is our best bet to catch these creeps red-handed and nail their asses to the wall."

Erin and Jay both nod, fully understanding what was at risk if they don't pull this off. Children.

Rollins and Amaro stepped forward handing Erin and Jay, respectively, a file folder with several documents.

While Erin and Jay browsed through the paperwork in their hands, Olivia gave a short overview. "Upper east side, born and raised. Early thirties. Been married since your early twenties. You've been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant, both naturally and with medical help for the last eight years. When you began looking into adoption two years ago. An IRS audit came over Jake's company and he was arrested for tax evasion and money laundering. He was later acquitted of all charges, but the collar put a red flag on his record and no credible adoption agency or foster care agency will process the adoption application. You've got money and you're willing to spend it to get a child."

Erin and Jay nodded again, both too tired to say much and Olivia took notice. "It's pretty late and you guys look beat. Everyone get out of here, get some rest and meet back here in the morning at nine sharp. We'll hash out the rest of the details then."

The group split and head off in different directions while Jay and Erin said goodnight to everyone.

"So, do you want to try getting pregnant naturally one more time?" Jay joked about their undercover aliases as they waited for the elevator to take them to the first floor of the 16th Precinct.

Erin gasped and smiled, "Jay!" She said as she stepped into the elevator car.

"In-vitro just doesn't get me as hot as the real stuff." he admitted in a quieter and almost huskier voice, taking his place by her side as they descended.

"You're sick!" was the response he got along with a smack on the shoulder and his ultimate goal; a laugh. Jay just smiled back, taking Erin's hand.

"It was worth a try!"

"Wow, the CPD didn't skimp us on this one." Erin Lindsay observed as the cab pulled up outside their hotel that night. It was a tall, narrow building, with lots of floors. She had stopped counting after twenty. The front entrance was formed from beautiful stone and as her and Jay made their way through the shining revolving door their eyes took in the beauty of the inside. Giant chandeliers hung from the ceiling of the lobby, a black grand piano sat in the very center and large columns stood throughout from floor to ceiling. There were chaise lounges and loveseat sofas scattered for leisure; soft chatter reverberated over the room from guests and employees.

While Erin fawned over the pristine lobby for a few moments with an impressed gaze, Jay chuckled at her and made his way to the front desk to check them in. Erin noticed she was alone seconds later and scanned the room for her partner. She spotted him several feet away from her at the front desk. Suddenly, an idea struck her as she walked over to him, placing a hand on his arm to excuse herself before interrupting.

"Which room is under the name Halstead?"

"Um," the concierge, a girl with strawberry blonde hair looking to be in her early twenties, looked at the records of the room she had just given keys out for. "1710."

"Go ahead and cancel that room," Erin told her confidently and slipped the key card from Jay's fingers back into her hands. The concierge turned her gaze to Jay, who, in turn, looked at Erin, confused. She just patted Jay's hand who, still a bit baffled, nodded at the concierge.

"Alright, looks like we're all set, thanks so much!" Erin gave the girl a friendly smile and grabbed Jay's hand, the one not pulling luggage behind them, and began to walk toward the elevator.

"Erin, where am I going to-" he began as they waited for the elevator.

"With me." She finished simply as the doors slid open and they stepped on.

The room was gorgeous. It was obviously expensively furnished. The walls were painted a light gray and trimmed with intricate, white crown molding. In the middle of the room was a queen bed that looked as soft as a cloud. Warm tans, caramels, and taupes mixed with the soft lighting gave the room a cozy effect. Behind the floor-to-ceiling drapes were stunning views of the city. Erin and Jay took all of it in. The Chicago Police Department paid for this? It seemed like a presidential suite.

"This is going to be nice," Jay stated, sitting on the foot of the bed.

"I agree," Erin said, not looking at him, but around the room, with her arms crossed, standing within arms length of Jay. He reached out and gently grabbed her forearm. Pulling his arm back, his hand slid down her arm, connecting with her hand and unfolding her arms in the process. The rest of her soon followed until she was standing in front of him, looking down into his blue eyes. He gave her a grin before pulling her so she was on his lap, straddling him with her knees bent on the bed on either side of his thighs. Erin leaned in and their lips connected. Being touched by her still ran shivers down his spine the same way Jay's touch made her weak in the knees. Erin's hands snaked up his neck to his hair as Jay's large, roaming hands held her so close, so lovingly. She had never felt anything even comparable to how being held by Jay made her feel and she never wanted anything else to come close.

Minutes later, despite all her efforts not to, Erin broke their kiss for a yawn. This elicited a hearty laugh from Jay. "Am I that bad?" He joked, faking offense. Stopping a make out to yawn? It was actually probably the cutest thing he had ever witnessed from her.

Erin laughed as she finished her yawn and kissed his lips. "Not too bad."

Jay smiled, "I'm pretty tired too, let's call it a night." He wrapped his large fingers around Erin's waist and lifted her off of his lap and set her on the ground before he stood up. A kiss was planted on her head before he walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

Erin changed into her pajamas, which consisted of a cami and short shorts, turned on the TV and sat on the bed, confirming that yes, it was as soft as a cloud. From a corner of the room she heard a beep, a beep she recognized as the sound her phone made on low battery. After about five minutes of digging around in her suitcase, Erin came to the conclusion that her phone charger was plugged into the outlet next to her bed at home in Chicago. Wonderful. When it beeped again, she remembered that Jay had the same phone as her.

"Halstead!" Erin called and knocked on the bathroom door. She almost expected him to not hear her from the shower. What she didn't expect was for the door to swing open and reveal her boyfriend, almost a foot taller than her, soaking wet, with ripped muscles, in nothing but a towel. Erin jumped; she hadn't even heard the water shut off. Startled, she gasped and looked up at him. "I uh…can I-"

Jay laughed, "Can you…?"

"My phone is-" Erin began but was cut off by Jay picking her up and throwing him over her shoulder. "Jay, put me down!" she pleaded, but stopped when an idea popped into her head. She almost wasn't over his shoulder enough for it to work. Reaching down his back, she hooked her finger under his towel and gave a quick yank, pulling it up into her hands, but not before getting a quick glance at his bare ass.

And quick it was. "Lindsay!" As soon as he realized what happened, he practically threw her onto the bed and grabbed his boxers from where they were sitting on the T.V. stand. He had them on before Erin, in stitches from laughing, gained her composure and looked up.

"That was so good!"

"No cuddling tonight." Jay threatened as they got under the covers.

"Fine then," Erin said with a grin and got comfortable. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

"Oh, wait, Jay?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I please use your phone charger? I forgot to pack mine."

"Here," he said, unplugging his fully charged phone from the outlet by the nightstand and rolling over so he could hand the cord to her.

"Thanks." Once Erin had her phone plugged in, she laid back down under the cozy duvet. Before she knew it, Jay's large hands were pulling her towards him.

"I guess you did say please," Jay surrendered. Erin grinned victoriously and snuggled into his warm chest as his strong arms encompassed her. Within minutes, they were asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mr. Karlsson! So nice to finally meet you!" exclaimed an undercover Erin Lindsay, introducing her alias, "I'm Lindy and this is my husband Jake." She gestured to Jay who shook their suspect, Mikael Karlsson's hand. They were meeting to arrange the adoption of a newborn child and hopefully bust an illegal adoption agency.

"Very nice to meet you as well," Jay was almost surprised at his Swedish accent. "I understand you'd like to become parents?" Karlsson grinned, charm and charisma practically oozing from him. He donned a pricey looking grey suit, a bright orange tie and pocket square, and shiny shoes that looked as though they could have been the most expensive things on him. Jay thought he looked like an asshole, which only increased his desire to arrest the guy.

"We would very much," Erin said, her smile gradually dissipating, "We've been trying to have a baby for so long, and we've tried everything and..." she trailed off for effect. Jay wrapped an arm around her, reassuringly.

"Mr. Karlsson is here to help us, Lindy." Jay comforted, squeezing her hand. Erin pursed her lips in a sad smile.

"So what do you do to earn your keep, Mr. and Mrs. Campbell?" Karlsson probed. He was now pacing around the living room of the home belonging to the real Jake and Lindy Campbell. His hands were clasped behind his back as his eyes wandered. The room was a dark navy, a color that surprisingly worked very well in the brightly sunlit room. On the walls were priceless, works of art that could have easily been mistaken for kindergarten art projects. The furniture was modern and classic, with clean lines and coordinating colors and textures, and the carpeting was the softest anyone in the room had ever walked on.

"I'm in advertising," Jay stated, Karlsson's eyes focusing back on him.

"Hmm, so you will obviously be able to provide for a child then. You two will be good parents, I am sure of that. Would you like to see your daughter?" Karlsson questioned his new clients.

"It's a girl?" Erin beamed, with the excitement of a mother-to-be at an ultrasound appointment.

Karlsson nodded and pulled out his phone, turning it so the couple could see. "She was born yesterday, seven pounds, three ounces. Do you have a name picked out?" Erin and Jay were staring at the picture of the baby, hoping that she and her mother were okay, knowing that the birth had taken place at an ill equipped place with unlicensed doctors. They were itching to find out where it was and prevent what was currently happening from ever happening again.

"Jaime," Erin said, hoping she didn't sound like she had just thought of it on the spot.

"Good, I will have her birth certificate ready when you pick her up." Karlsson was slowly making his way to the door and the two undercover police followed. "I will send you instructions and you will meet me tomorrow with the first payment, yes?"

"Of course," Jay said.

"And you will tell no one until you have Jaime in your arms." And with that, Karlsson was out the door.

* * *

"The first payment is two hundred fifty thousand in cash," Detective Jay Halstead said, later that afternoon in the SVU squad room. It was around 5pm. He and Erin had called Sergeant Benson after Karlsson left their undercover home and she had called them in to fill in the unit on what Karlsson had said. A minute ago, Jay's 'Jake Campbell' phone had gotten a text from Karlsson. "He wants us to meet at St. Nicholas Park and 135th tomorrow at 2pm."

"Should we go alone?" Erin asked, the rest of the SVU squad. Jay was wondering the same thing. Benson stood up and began to slowly pace.

"No. We'll have backup all over. Mostly plainclothes officers. The codeword is 'fatherhood'" Olivia reassured the two.

Fin interjected, "Once you have the baby and he has the money, the sale is done and he's toast. We'll bring him in and get him to give up where they set up their little clinic. This guy won't know what's coming," he finished with smirk.

"It won't be too hard, but keep in mind, the guy is dangerous," Benson warned.

"Sergeant!" came the voice of Carisi, walking into the room out of breath. "We got a tap on his phone, he had a text from a blocked number that said 'We're inducing her tomorrow.' What does that mean?"

Amanda Rollins interjected, "Labor. They're inducing a mother's labor at their facility tomorrow so they can have their product born at their convenience. We'll have to get answers out of Karlsson ASAP."

Benson nodded, "Alright. Everyone go home. We've got a big day ahead of us."

* * *

"Hey, thanks again for the ride," Jay told the NYPD officer as he and Erin got out of the back of the squad car. Before leaving the district, the Chicago detectives had struck up a conversation with some of the patrolmen outside the district. They had told them where their hotel was and since their shift was just starting, Officers Boyle and Connor had offered them a ride, saying that that's around where they were headed anyways.

"No problem, see you around!" The officers bid them farewell and drove off.

Jay smiled back at Erin as he waited for her to catch up to him. He had approached the door and opened it for her only to realize that she wasn't right next to him. She gave him a smile as she passed him and walked through the door and into the inviting hotel lobby. He was right on her heels.

"You hungry?" he asked, casually leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets as they waited for the elevator.

"Dunno, does the CPD pay for room service? I mean, they are paying for one less room…" Erin figured.

"I don't know. And I don't really care," Jay pushed himself off the wall and followed her into the elevator as the doors opened. "Let's order in, it's a Friday night and we're near Times Square. I don't feel like scouring the city for a seat at a restaurant or waiting 3 hours for a table."

"Room service it is." Erin agreed, walking out onto their floor. They were at the very end of the hall, which was long and turned a few corners. It was quite a trek, but they had an amazing corner room, so they weren't going to complain. As they approached their room, she unlocked the door and made a beeline to the bed, flopping down on top of it. Jay followed, walking into the room and grinning at the sight of Erin Lindsay on the bed flipping through the surprisingly extensive room service menu. Stretching, he removed his shirt and searched his suitcase for a new one.

"Alright, I know what I want!" Erin announced from the bed, tossing the menu to Jay, who barely caught it.

"What are you getting?"

"That delicious looking burger on the back page.," she said. She was starving. "And I bet you want chicken tenders."

Jay hadn't even gotten through the first page when he snapped the menu shut. "Yep." Erin smiled knowingly as she picked up the phone.

"Alright we've got forty-five minutes to kill," she told him and turned on the hotel room's TV. "The Office?" She suggested as they sat on the bed next to each other. The show was soon forgotten and they fell into their usual routine of flirty banter and teasing each other.

Jay soon found himself staring at Erin's lips as she told a joke. He didn't know what it was about and he didn't care. He just wanted his lips on hers. As he slowly inched in, Erin realized what he was doing and stopped talking. A moment later, their lips melded together in a kiss, shooting sparks through her body. Erin's hand came up to cup his face, something that he usually did when they kissed. He pulled away and their eyes met. She laughed slightly, her face turning a light shade of pink that Jay thought was absolutely adorable. Once again their lips met. It was a feeling neither of them could get enough of. Kissing each other was their favorite thing to do.

Jay's hands roamed up Erin's shirt and in seconds, it was on the floor. He lifted her up in his strong arms and laid her down on the bed. Erin looked up at him standing and gazing at her. She laughed nervously, "What?"

Jay sucked in a breath, "You're perfect." Erin blushed even more as he began to step out of his jeans. When they were on the ground along with his boxers, he began to slip her jeans off of her, tossing them in the growing pile of clothes on the hotel room floor and crawled on top of her. Erin's breath hitched in her throat.

She had slept with him many times before, but this time seemed different. It seemed more official. More domestic. Maybe it was because they were across the country for work and sharing a hotel room. Something she never imagined would happen.

Erin looked up and saw Jay on the bed crawling on top of her and before she knew it his lips were on hers. He had one hand behind her back and with one swift movement, unhooked her bra. She shrugged out of it, throwing it aside as her breasts were freed. Jay sat up, completely taken by the sight of her naked form in bed underneath him. He crossed his arms across his body, grasping the seam of his shirt and peeled it off of himself. Erin moaned at the sight of his perfectly chiseled muscular body. That was what was protecting the citizens of Chicago. She almost lost it right then and there.

Again, Jay crawled on top of her, this time nothing separating the two of them. His large calloused hands rubbed up and down her sides. "Jay please…" Erin almost whimpered, earning a small smirk from him. She felt him shift his hips as she brought her knees up on either side of him and spread her legs to accommodate his hips.

Jay pressed a firm kiss to her lips and slowly pushed himself inside her warmth. Erin sucked in a breath at the feeling; he wasn't small. He brought his lips to her neck, not moving his hips, so she could adjust to him. After what seemed like forever for him, he heard her sigh out his name and relax underneath him. Pulling out slowly, he pushed back in. Erin's delicate fingers wrapped around his neck and combed up through his hair. Soon he was thrusting into her at a steady pace. She could barely comprehend any thoughts except for how he was magical in bed. Their bodies fit together perfectly, he knew exactly the right spots to kiss on her neck to make her melt and the way his name caught on her lips was the sexiest thing Jay had ever heard.

"Uhh, Erin," Jay grunted in her ear as he kissed behind it.

"Jay, move," Erin panted.

He let out a strained laugh and picked up the pace, "I am, Lindsay."

Lindsay. That was her name at work. He never called her Lindsay, always Erin. He always had. It was more intimate; after all, he had fallen in love with her very soon after joining Intelligence. Most of the unit was on a last name basis, but Jay called her by her first name. Hers, not her deadbeat parents', but hers only. By calling her Erin, he had snuck his way into her heart without her even knowing it. She liked it that he called her Erin.

But calling her Lindsay just then was such a turn on. Maybe because she rarely heard him call her that. Either way, he was driving her insane. Her nails had found their way along a path down Jay's back.

His thrusts were getting sloppy as he buried himself into her over and over.

"Jay...Jay...Jay...Jay..." Erin softly chanted into his ear. He was driving into her at just the right angle. They both knew she was close.

"Come on, Erin," he mumbled into her ear, sending her into a fit of pleasure as her orgasm washed over her and sent shockwaves through her nervous system. At the feeling of her clenching around him, Jay followed, grunting as he came inside of her in warm spurts.

After catching their breaths, Jay pulled out and rolled them over so that Erin was laying on his chest. She sighed contently as she felt him wrap his arm around her and trace circles on her back. There was no place else they'd rather be, and the goofy grin on both of their faces was proof of that.

The room service cart was still outside their door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Finally! Sorry this one took so long! Writing procedurals is just so hard to get excited about! Here it is, just in time for the PD/SVU part of the crossover! I want to thank bubbly88tay for coming to help and ending up writing the interrogation scene in a span of 15 minutes! **

"Mr. Karlsson." Jay Halstead greeted the next morning as himself, Erin Lindsay and their suspect casually gathered near a picnic bench at the edge of St. Nicholas Park, their instructed meeting spot for the adoption.

"Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, beautiful morning isn't it?" He asked smugly. It was. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the birds were chirping and the daffodils were blooming; a beautiful day for an arrest.

"Do you have our baby girl?" Erin asked, with a hint of impatience.

"I do, she is in the car," Karlsson said, gesturing to the slate grey Infiniti QX60 behind him, "Do you have the payment?" His eyes darted toward the duffle bag Jay was holding.

"Yes, it's all in here," Jay reassured him, handing over the bag. Before he knew it, Karlsson had him bent over the picnic bench and was patting him down. Jay's immediate reaction, as per his army and police training, was to tense up and resist, although he relaxed a second later, remembering where he was and who he was pretending to be. Luckily Karlsson didn't seem to suspect a thing.

"What are you doing to him!? He gave you the money, leave him alone!" Erin defended, her tone not nearly as intense as she would have reacted had she not been undercover.

"Just being safe, you never know who to trust these days," Karlsson assured the two as he pulled Jay up and patted him on the back. He smiled his charismatic smile and opened the bag before thumbing through the fresh stacks of fifty-dollar bills. "All right, everything seems to be in order." He turned on his heel and walked to the car. A few seconds later he returned carrying a car seat and a folder. "Here is your baby girl, in the folder is her birth certificate and documents."

"Thank you," Jay said taking the carrier. Erin pulled back the blanket to reveal a gorgeous, brunette baby girl fast asleep.

"Oh wow, she's beautiful," Erin commented honestly. She couldn't be more than a week or so old, but already had thick, soft curls atop her head.

Jay smiled, looking up from gazing at the infant,"We can't thank you enough, Mr. Karlsson, fatherhood is going to be amazing."

Fatherhood.

"Go! Go! Go!" Detective Amaro shouted, hearing the codeword over Jay's wire. Police officers swarmed the place, coming out from behind bushes, plainclothes officers acting as civilians turned and ran, pulling out concealed weapons and secured the perimeter. Fin, Amaro and Rollins hopped out of the incognito surveillance van across the street and sprinted towards where Jay, Erin and Karlsson were standing.

"Put the kid in the car and go!" Fin shouted as he approached, spinning Karlsson around cuffing him as Erin and Jay were scrambling to get into their car. "Meet back at the precinct!" Fin turned back to Karlsson. "You're under arrest for selling babies, buddy."

"Success," Erin said as she sat in the backseat with the car seat next to her. They hadn't had time to install it correctly as they made their escape, so she had gotten in the back to hold onto it.

"Is she okay?" Jay said glancing into the backseat before turning his focus back on the road.

Erin nodded, "She seems fine, we'll get her checked over with a paramedic when we get to the precinct. DCFS will be waiting there to take her."

Erin thought about how unpredictable this baby girl's life would be. DCFS would likely place "Jaime" for adoption and her chances of being adopted were higher since she was an infant. Hopefully she would be adopted by a kind family who would love her as their own and the transition would be so seamless, the baby girl would tend to forget she was adopted in the first place. Otherwise, DCFS would place her in foster care and she would be shuffled from home to home her whole life. Erin had heard how horrible that was from her younger half-brother, Teddy and would never wish that on anyone, especially an innocent newborn like Jaime.

Erin wished she could do something about Jaime's situation, but she was only 29, she wasn't ready for a kid yet.

"We know you've got a labor and delivery facility somewhere, Karlsson," Nick Amaro said, as he paced around Karlsson and his lawyer in the SVU interrogation room. Erin was silently leaning up against the cinder block wall. "Give it up, and we'll arrest the doctors and the DA will go easy on you."

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Karlsson questioned, raising an eyebrow with difficulty as he continued to lounge in his chair, hands lying cuffed on the table before him.

"Well, what a coincidence, because I think you know exactly what we're talking about." Amaro smirked, slowly pacing the room.

"My client has no knowledge of any

." Karlsson's lawyer said, spitting out the last word. Karlsson slowly raised his shoulders, a smirk, clearly guilty, playing on his lips.

"Well then. Where did you get a three day old baby from, huh?" Amaro reached the far edge if the room and spun on his heel again, facing the man with a look of distaste, and a feigned smile. "Did you find her in a dumpster? Or did she just rain from the sky? Because both of those choices are far more likely than you being innocent in this mess." Amaro stopped his slowly pacing as he reached the table. Laying both hands flat on the table, and leveraging himself forward he brought his self right next to the man. "What happened to the mother? Did you kill her?"

"Detective, I didn't know you were hard of hearing, as I have already stated that my client has no knowledge of the facility, much less of the poor women inside of it." The lawyer stated calmly, watching the interaction between his client and the SVU detective.

"Denton," Amaro started, standing back up as he crossed his hands across his chest. "Wanna hear a funny story?" The lawyer rolled his eyes.

"I feel like I don't have much of a choice here." The lawyer replied as he continued to sit like there was a stick up his butt.

"Good answer. Do you see the detective right here? The pretty one who looks like she's going to rip your clients throat out? Your client sold her a baby about an hour and a half ago. Can you explain that to me?"

"My client was confused and coerced by a cop. For all you know, it could be possible that he was forced to do it. Now, because you have no solid evidence or proof of my client being involved-"

"Denton, are you deaf? Or are you just dumb-"

"This is harassment-"

"I don't care. Whether or not he knew she was a cop, Karlsson, here, sold her a baby. We have the proof. We have the phone taps, video surveillance, witness surveillance and multiple people ready to go to trial. However, he will only be charged with child trafficking if he confesses and tells us where the women are. But if he doesn't, and those women die, he will also be charged with unlawful medical practice and homicide. Do you understand me? Or do you still think you're being harassed, Denton?"

"Show us the evidence." The lawyer demanded coldly, placing a hand across Karlsson's chest, his face curling in a distinctly violent manor. He knew he couldn't weasel his client out of this one.

"I'm so happy you said that." Erin smirked with a look of satisfaction on her face, pulling the folder from her lap, slapping it on the table, and sliding it to Amaro.

Amaro, a smirk also on his face, opened the folder, and pulled out the laminated 8x10's, slapping them on the table in front of Karlsson and Denton. The first photo showed Karlsson patting Jay down violently, the second showed Karlsson holding the bag of money, fanning through the stack of bills and the third showed Karlsson pulling the car seat from the car. The lawyer shook his head slowly, his client bad damned himself because he wasn't careful.

"See that man, also a detective." Amaro smiled as he placed a finger over Jays head in the first photo. "And that baby?" He laid his fingers over the baby in the photos. "That baby is currently in the system because of you. You are a monster."

"It's all circumstantial."

"Circumstantial? Do you wanna hear the phone conversations and see the video surveillance as well? Just give us the damn address, or I swear to god, hell will come raining down on you." Amaro whispered, keeping his straight face but letting his anger lace his words.

"Is that a threat detective?" Denton asked, a fake look of surprise on his face.

"Nah, more like a promise. Now you have five seconds to give me an address, or I walk out that door, and you'll regret that decision for the rest of your pathetic life."

"Detective, I don't know-"

"Five."

"You're wasting your t-"

"Four." This felt like trying to get a child to go to his room.

"You're going to be sor-"

"Three."

"Detective, stop."

"Two."

Silence.

"One."

With the final syllable out of his mouth, Erin stood and collected the photos from the table, shoving them in the folder as she quickly turned and opened the door, sliding out. Amaro followed, standing and stretching the sore muscles in his back. His heels clicked against the floor as he traced his steps to the door.

As he grabbed the handle of the door, swinging it towards him, he heard a whispered, 'stop.'

He continued to follow through with his step. "Stop. Detective. I-if I tell you, we can make a deal?"

Amaro stopped, facing Erin who bad turned towards him, a gleeful smile on her lips from outside the interrogation room. He turned on his heel towards the men sitting at the table.

"Perhaps, tell me what you know and I'll see what I can do." Amaro demanded, walking back into the room as the door clicked shut behind him.

"NYPD! Hands up!" The voices of various detectives shouted as they breached a room in a shady looking office building.

"Hands against the wall! Now, do it now!" Jay Halstead shouted pointing to a man in a doctor's lab coat and making a spinning motion with his finger.

"But she's-" the man began before being shoved against the wall by Fin. A second man pulled out a gun and pointed it at Carisi as he began to walk toward him.

"Put it do-" The man was too close. Carisi fired, sending a round straight through his chest.

Erin didn't even flinch, her eyes were focused on the terrified looking and very pregnant young woman laying on the bed. Her legs were up in stirrups and her hairline was wet with sweat. "Jay! She needs help!"

Jay handed the man in the lab coat over to Rollins and walked over to where Erin was by the bed. When he got there he realized what was going on, "She's in labor." he said, turning his eyes from the young woman to his partner.

"It's coming, I have to push," The woman ground out, desperately looking between both detectives. Erin and Jay looked at each other and gave small nods of agreement.

"Hey, you and your baby are going to be okay, what's your name, sweetie?" Erin asked as Jay handed her some surgical gloves from a box a few steps away.

"Kelsey," The woman whispered.

"Alright, Kelsey, I'm Erin and this is Jay, we're gonna help you deliver your baby okay?"

"How long for another ambo!?" Jay shouted over to the other group of cops who were escorting the fake doctors out; one in cuffs and one on a stretcher. They couldn't even recruit one of the paramedics that were wheeling the stretcher, the guy Carisi had shot was losing too much blood.

"Ten minutes out, there's was a big pileup on the Manhattan bridge," Amanda replied, "Are you guys good until the paramedics come?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Erin said, as she moved around Kelsey. She knew the ambo wasn't going to get there in time.

"Hey, don't push yet!" Jay told the girl who seemed to be ready to give birth right then and there.

"Jay, no! Hold her hand!" Jay looked at Erin who was moving over between Kelsey's legs. He just stared for a second. "She has to push just hold her up." Jay went wide eyed at his partner but did as he was told.

"Alright, Kelsey, you can push whenever you want okay? Everything's all set." Jay put his strong arm around the girl's back for support as she sat up and pushed.

"I see his head!" Erin commented, prompting Kelsey to take a deep breath and bear down again. "He's coming really fast." Erin looked up at Jay for moral support and he winked down at her and gave a small smile. She had to be the strong one in this situation, but he knew she was internally on edge. One thing Erin Lindsay did best was grace under pressure.

Suddenly, Erin felt the baby's head pop out into her waiting hand and she tore her eyes from Jay and she jumped back a bit to avoid the fluid landing onto her clothes. "His head's out, okay Kelsey?" Kelsey nodded and gave an almighty push. Erin wasn't sure that births were supposed to happen this fast, at least she'd never heard of one, but she supposed the quicker it was over the easier it was.

Just then, a couple of patrol officers and the paramedics ran in with a stretcher, as Kelsey bore down once more, sending the child's entire body easily sliding out into Erin's arms. This time she couldn't avoid the fluid.

"Baby's out! It's a boy!" Erin exclaimed. Kelsey collapsed back onto the bed, exhausted as the EMT's rushed over to take the baby from Erin. She looked up at them and handed the child over.

"We've got it from here detectives, we'll keep in touch with SVU, good job," The patrolman said. Erin stood up from the squat she had been in to deliver the baby and walked over to the sink to wash off her hands and forearms. Luckily, none of the birth fluids had gotten on her clothes. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in as she saw Jay come up next to her.

"Hey, good job," Jay said softly as he hovered over her. After she grabbed paper towels and dried off she looked up at him. He wore a warm expression. She just wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Jay kissed her hair. After a few seconds she pulled away and smiled up at him. "Thanks."

**Thanks for reading! Maybe give me some suggestions for what you want to see next in the comments!**

**Also, check out my blog, .com! Submit your predictions and if it happens on the show you get your name on the leaderboards! **


	4. Chapter 4

**This is kind of a filler, there's not much but humor and fluff. Thanks to McShipper for writing the plane scene! She's my newest guest writer! Enjoy!**

"Erin, good to hear from you!" Hank Voight said into the phone as he sat in a reclined position at his desk in Chicago and fidgeted with a pen, "How are things going in New York?"

"Good, Hank, they're real good, we got a guy, Karlsson, here to sell us a kid and we took down the birth facility and got the location of the one in Chicago," Erin smiled into the phone, glad that they had been successful. "We're done here. Carisi, Rollins, Amaro, Halstead and I are headed back to Illinois tomorrow morning, we'll brief you then."

"Good to know, Erin, great job kiddo. I'll see you then."

"See you soon, Hank," Erin said, pressing the end button on her phone and turned around to see Jay sitting on their hotel room bed. He was wearing no shirt and some black basketball shorts. His expression showed that he was waiting to hear what the person on the other line had said. "It was just Hank checking up," Erin said, placing her phone on the end table and sitting next to him.

"So what are we going to do? We've got the rest of the evening off, it's only seven," Jay said looking over at his girlfriend, "We could just stay in if you want. There's a pool on the rooftop, there's all sorts of stuff to do in Manhattan."

"Let's check out that pool."

"All right, I don't have any swim trunks, but I guess these will do," Jay said, gesturing to his shorts as Erin dug a matching bra and panties out of her suitcase and headed into the bathroom. She was out a few minutes later, in one of Jay's large shirts that he figured he must have left in the bathroom.

"Put on a shirt, let's go," she said, tossing him one. He pulled it over his head and stood up, taking her hand and heading to the elevator.

At the top they were met with a beautiful sparkling swimming pool, surrounded by high end chaise lounges, all encased in a beautiful greenhouse enclosure. Despite it being early April, they could still swim, and the best part was the entire place was deserted.

The couple walked over to some chairs and took their shirts off, leaving Jay just in shorts and Erin in her bra and panties. "You ready to get wet, Halstead?" she asked with a smirk.

"Not as much as you are!" He said, sweeping her off of her feet and walking over to the edge of the pool.

"Jay! I swear to-" was all Erin got out before she was submerged; Jay had tossed her into the pool. The nerve!

"Halstead!" Erin roared as soon as she resurfaced, pushing her limp, wet hair out of her face. He was standing at the edge of the pool laughing to himself. "Your turn, get in here!"

"I don't know. It looks pretty cold." Jay took a step back from the pool's edge.

"No no no. You don't get to throw me in and walk away." Erin protested, "Now get in!" She paused and thought a minute, "Or are you scared of the water mister soldier?"

"Me. Scared? Never." Jay shook his head. "I'm not scared of anything."

"Then get in!" Erin yelled swimming closer, looking up at him and lowering her voice, "Get in the water Halstead."

"What are you gonna do about it, Lindsay?" Jay smirked at his girlfriend in the water.

"Not give you any for quite some time," Erin retorted. That usually worked.

"You wouldn't do that." His smirk fell off face when he realized how serious this could get.

"I would." She hadn't made this sort of threat before, so Jay wasn't sure if he should call her bluff.

Jay stood at the edge of the pool, contemplating his options. He saw the she wasn't going to budge so he inched closer towards the pool. "Fine. You win."

Erin smirked at him and began to back away. Jay peeled off the t-shirt that she threw at him earlier and took a couple steps back before running towards the pool and jumping in, splashing Erin in the process. He emerged a couple seconds later, wiping the water from his eyes and brushing his hair back from his forehead. Erin swam up to him and planted a kiss on his lips. "Now how scary was that?" she asked, looking up at him.

"I told you, I'm not scared of anything." Jay wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him, and leaned in to kiss her again.

"Not even getting shot?" Erin pushed.

"I've been shot before. First time's the hardest but after that it's a walk in the park."

"You've only been shot once, how do you know?" Erin laughed at him, he was trying to sound like a pro to taking rounds to the body.

"Antonio's been shot, what like three times?"

"Alright, storyteller, then what are you afraid of?" Erin knew there was something, everyone was afraid of _something. _

"You getting hurt. Every day out there I worry about you even though I'm the one who has your back." Jay sighed and looked away from her.

Erin placed her hand on his cheek and turned his head towards her again, "You've got nothing to worry about.

"Good, because I don't know what I would do if something ever did happen."

"Well, I hope you'd visit me at the hospital and bring me something besides the food they serve there. Think you could handle that?" Erin laughed, kicking off of the pool floor and floating backwards.

"Yeah that doesn't sound too bad." Jay splashed a little water at her. "Maybe I'd even bring you some nice flowers."

"See? There you go! Not so scary huh?" Erin laughed, standing up and going back to Jay, grabbing both of his hands and dragging him to the deep end of the pool.

"I'll always worry about you, Erin. Even when we're old and wrinkly and living in Wisconsin."

"What did I say about Wisconsin, Halstead?" Erin reminded him.

"I'll get you up there someday," he promised.

"Hmmm," Erin hummed, bringing her legs up to circle his waist. "In your dreams."

He was leaning in for a kiss when from the corner of his eye, a flash of bright colors passed by. Looking up and to his right, he saw about seven or eight kids, all about middle school aged, cramming through the door to the pool room and barreling towards them at a run. Suddenly, a loud smack sounded in his left ear and before he could turn his head, he and Erin were soaked with the splash from a cannonball. Their private space had quickly turned into a water park.

Erin buried her face in Jay's chest laughing. "Well there goes our fun," Jay said with a smile. He used his upper body strength to hoist himself up and out of the water, turning so he was sitting on the edge of the pool. Erin held her hands up and he lifted her up as well, sitting her next to him. "Let's get back the the room, what do you say?"

Erin nodded and the two left the loud and humid pool room and headed back to their hotel suite.

* * *

"So you guys are partners?" Carisi asked the next morning as the five detectives waited at LaGuardia at the gate for their plane back to Chicago. Erin and Jay nodded. "But you're dating?" They nodded again. "But what about your sergeant?"

"Carisi, leave them alone!" Amanda Rollins butted in as they all stood up to board the plane. The guy asked questions like a seven year old.

A half hour later, everyone had settled into their seats and the attendants were giving their safety speech. As soon as they got to the part where the emergency exits were explained, Carisi started squirming in his seat.

"Crap, we're in the front aisle," He pointed out.

"Yeah, that means more legroom," Nick Amaro said, stretching his long legs out in front of him, it was like first class.

"No," Carisi argued, "It means that I have to deal with the blow up slide if we crash. I'm sitting right here. What if it doesn't inflate like my air mattress? Plus, that door looks so heavy." He turned and stuck his face between the seats so he was looking at Erin and Jay a row back. "Halstead, you're burly, you wanna switch seats? You've probably even jumped out of a plane right?"

Jay laughed, this guy was better than Ruzek. "I have, yeah, but I think I'm good right here," he said, gesturing to Erin who was already asleep on his shoulder. Carisi just popped his head back as they finished up the safety speech and the pilot came on the speaker to announce the weather and that they were next in line to take off.

"Does anyone have any gum?" Carisi asked to anyone who was listening. He looked around as the plane taxied to the runway, acting even more jittery than before. No one was answering him. The engines were getting louder and louder until they were at their full volume; they wouldn't be on the ground for much longer. The plane seemed to vibrate around them as it picked up speed. The faster the plane got the more Sonny squirmed in his seat.

"God Carisi, can't you sit still for five seconds?" Rollins complained, rolling her eyes at the detective before returning to her conversation with Nick.

"Do you have one of those-" Carisi trailed off as the pressure of the cabin increased around them, throwing him against his seat.

"One of those what?" Nick asked, clearly irritated but also somewhat worried at the ashen expression of his co-worker. He nudged Amanda on the shoulder, glancing at Sonny, who was white knuckling the armrests of his seat.

"Carisi are you-" Sonny's hand flew to his mouth as he started to fumble for the airsick bag, conveniently located in front of Nick, two seats over. He let go of his mouth and struggled with his seatbelt as his stomach heaved with the motion of the plane. Before Amanda could finish her sentence and by the time Nick figured out what was about to happen, Amanda had vomit covering her front.

The commotion jolted Erin awake and she quickly examined her surroundings, realizing what had happened. "Oh my god," Erin exclaimed, hand covering her mouth. "Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" Amanda snapped, tears pooling in her eyes.

Erin grabbed her carry on, quickly rummaging through it. The best she had was a package of wipes and some hand sanitizer. She handed them over the seats, hoping they would help at least a little bit.

"Chilli for lunch probably wasn't his brightest idea," Jay smirked, as Erin zipped her bag back up and put it back under her seat.

After what seemed like eternity, the seatbelt light finally turned off, and the two detectives hopped up, and scrambled to the bathrooms, Amaro trailing closely behind.

Erin unclipped her seatbelt, curling her feet underneath her. She couldn't help but smile a few moments later when the flight attendant struggled to clean up the remnants of Carisi's lunch. She was still smirking when she turned to look at Jay.

She narrowed her eyes, "Halstead, why do you have that look in your eye?" She didn't have time to react as his hands reached out to lightly tickle her sides, before pulling her over into his lap.

Erin quirked an eyebrow, "We're not joining the mile high club, if that's what you're thinking."

"Of course not," Jay agreed, "Our co-workers are taking up all the bathrooms." He smiled before planting a kiss on her lips. Erin was the one to deepen the kiss, only breaking apart for air moments later.

"There has got to be some kind of TSA violation against this," Erin said, leaning her forehead against his.

"If so, then we should definitely break the rules more often." He kisses her nose before cuddling her into his side, her head tucked under his chin. They only cuddle comfortably for a few moments before Erin's voice catches his attention.

"Holy shit," she whispers, sitting up slightly, patting Jay's leg. They both watch in amusement as their disheveled co-workers make their way back towards them. Carisi looks less green, but still lackluster. Amanda was wearing Nick's button up shirt, which she positively drowned in; the look on her face said that she wasn't happy about it. Nick looked awkward as he followed behind wearing nothing but his jeans and his boots, earning the eye of quite a few female passengers.

"Speaking of the mile high club," Jay said, smirking, "here come the newest members."

Erin couldn't contain her laughter so she buried her face in Jay's neck as a fit of giggles overtook her. She had to take several deep breaths through her nose before she was able to speak again.

"Rollins, back here," she waved at the female detective, "You can take my seat."

Amanda sighed thankfully, settling into the seat beside them. A flight attendant had cleaned up the vomit on her original seat, but it was still wet from the cleaner that had been used. After a moment, Amanda looked over at the pair of detectives, cuddled up together. "There has got to be some kind of rule against that." She said, wrinkling her brow, feigning jealousy.

Jay ran a hand protectively over Erin's back, throwing Rollins a smirk, "Rules are meant to be broken."

* * *

"Hey, Pinky and The Brain, get over here," called Sergeant Platt the next day from her spot behind the desk, front and center in the district's lobby. She was looking at Jay and Erin who had just walked in. Despite the restful night, after their flight home, Erin had still been stifling yawns the entire way there and was in the middle of one now. The two detectives stopped and altered their paths toward the front desk, placed their elbows on the formica and looked up at the Sergeant.

"So I got your expense reports back from the trip to New York," she explained, showing them some papers.

"Okay," Jay said, not sure where this was going.

"Well the department only got charged for one hotel room," Platt gave them a look, "And I thought Voight sent both of you to work that case."

"He did," Erin confirmed. Platt knew.

"Care to explain?" she asked.

"Nope," Erin popped, as she smacked her hand on the desk and turn to walk upstairs, Jay at her heels.

"That's it?" Jay asked in disbelief on their way upstairs, "She talks to Voight you know."

"Yeah, I know," Erin brushed off Jay's concern for their boss finding out about their relationship, "She knows better than to say anything."

When they got upstairs, they saw that Carisi, Rollins and Amaro were already standing there, chatting with the other Intelligence members and Voight was in his office, as usual. Jay checked his watch to make sure they weren't late. They were supposed to debrief the unit about what had happened in New York and how they were going to take down the illegal adoption ring's branch in Chicago. He showed up with Erin almost daily and it wasn't suspicious, unless they were late. Thankfully, they weren't.

When Sergeant Voight saw through his office windows that everyone was accounted for, he walked out into the bullpen and stood in front of everyone with his hands in his pockets.

"You five, tell everyone what's going on," he barked, pointing to Halstead and Lindsay as well as the three detectives from New York.

Erin went up to the board as Carisi began putting up mugshots. "This guy, Mikael Karlsson hails from Sweden. He's been here in the states fifteen years, doing all sorts of illegal stuff, but has managed to never get caught until the other day when Halstead and I went undercover. He sold us a baby and we pinched him right there."

Amaro interjected, "We cut him a deal with the DA and he gave up the Chicago ring and explained it for us. He got quite the reduced sentence for giving up his partner. This guy," she pointed to another mugshot of a blonde, middle aged, well groomed man, "is Daniel Lundin, also from Sweden."

"He's got the same exact thing going on that Karlsson did in New York, but in addition to newborns, he does abandoned kids, five and under and puts them up for adoption. What we do know this time around where the birthing facility is and that he'll be there. What he does is makes sure everything is set and ready to go for the delivery and then leaves the doctors," Carisi said, putting air quotes around the word 'doctors', "to do their thing. There's a delivery scheduled for today at 10am and an adoption set to take place at 11am. Lundin will likely be doing the adoption after he leaves the clinic."

Halstead raised his hand from where he was sitting on Erin's desk, signaling that he had something to say. "What we can do is split up, half of us can take the clinic and half of us can take the adoption." When Jay was done he looked to his sergeant for approval, which he received in the form of a nod.

"Olinsky, Ruzek, Rollins, Amaro, and Atwater, take the Clinic. Halstead, Lindsay, Carisi and Antonio, take the adoption," Hank said, assigning everyone. "Let's gear up."

* * *

"I want my mommy," cried three year old, Julian, from the back seat of the Chrysler 300 as Lindsay drove them from Humboldt Park back to the 21st district. It was 12:30 pm, the adoption bust had gone off without a hitch. Carisi and Antonio had just arrested Daniel Lundin for selling Lindsay and Halstead the little boy.

Julian had light brown hair and bright green eyes and was currently sitting on Jay's lap while Erin drove. The boy had immediately ran to Jay when Antonio had grabbed Lundin, and hadn't let the detective leave his side.

"I know, bud, I know you do, but guess what?" Jay said, trying to get the boy's mind off of the fact that he couldn't see his mother, without telling him that she was about to get a visit from the CPD. She was about to get some cuffs slapped on her and thrown in jail for child abandonment.

"What?" Julian asked, suddenly intrigued.

"We can go for a ride in a real police car, when we get to the station, how would you like that?" Jay offered, hoping that Platt would give him keys to a squad car

"Really?" Julian said in disbelief, no longer crying or even thinking about his mother.

"Really," Jay smiled back.

"All right, Julian, we're at McDonald's, do you want anything to eat?" Erin asked, turning around in the front seat to look at him. She knew that since the boy had been abandoned, his mother likely hadn't fed him anything remotely healthy, but it was the only restaurant on the way to the district and they didn't have time to stop at a sit-down one.

"Yeah! Nuggets and Hi-C please!" the boy requested. Erin wasn't gonna let him eat _complete_ shit though.

"Hey, Julian, look at Detective Halstead's muscles, do you see how strong he is?" coaxed, hoping this would work. Jay caught on quickly and pulled up his short sleeve, flexing his impressive arm muscles for the boy. Julian was mesmerized, bringing a little hand up to touch them. "You know how he got those?"

"No, how!?"

"He drinks milk, right Detective Halstead?" Erin asked Jay who looked at Julian and confirmed her story. "So how about some chocolate milk instead? Do you like chocolate milk?" Julian nodded, excited. "All right, muscle man, chocolate milk it is."

"What did you get?" Julian asked Jay as he lifted Julian off his lap and into the seat next to him and buckling him up.

"I got a Big Mac," Jay told him as he took the white bags that Erin was passing back to them. He opened the chocolate milk jug for Julian and handed it to him.

"What's that?" Julian questioned after a big swig. He had quite the milk mustache. Jay couldn't help but laugh as he gently wiped it off with a napkin.

"It's just a fancy name for a cheeseburger," Halstead defined for him, but Julian was already scarfing down the nuggets like he hadn't eaten in days. What broke Jay's heart was that in reality, he probably hadn't. Parents don't tend to feed kids they plan on abandoning and illegal adoption rings aren't known for their hospitality. The boy probably would have eaten twenty nuggets if they'd ordered it.

Five minutes later, Julian's nuggets were history and Erin was pulling into her usual spot in front of the district.

"Hold my hand across the street, Julian," Erin told him, reaching out for his small hand which he gave to her willingly.

"Why?" The boy asked. Had his mother not taught him? Of course she hadn't.

"I don't want you to get hit by a car, buddy," she explained, "Okay? Look both ways to make sure none are coming, do you see any?"

"Nope!" Julian announced.

"Okay, now it's safe to cross," Erin assured him and they made their way across Maxwell Street with Jay right behind them. As they began to walk up the steps, Julian walked with his head turned behind him, making sure his buddy was still coming. Jay gave him a reassuring look.

"Hey, Julian," Jay offered, "This is Sergeant Platt, can you say hi?"

"Hi!" the little boy waved enthusiastically as Jay hoisted him up so he could sit on the desk.

"Hey, Julian, nice to meet you," Platt smiled, she always surprised Jay with how good she was with kids.

"Hey, Sarge," Jay said, hoping what he was about to ask would work, "We were wondering if we could get Julian here a ride around in the squad car for a little bit, do you think that'd be okay?" To Jay's surprise and relief, she reached down in the little box under the desk and pulled out a pair of keys, handing them to Julian.

"Of course! Have fun Julian!" she said as Jay mouthed her a 'thanks' and lifted the boy off of the counter. Then he called Erin over, who had been talking to Carisi, and she followed them out the door.

"Alright, remember how to cross the street bud?" Erin asked, as she took his right hand, his left one held by Jay.

"Look!" Julian answered and did just that.

"That's right, is it safe to cross?" she asked for the second time that day. Julian told them it was and a few moments later, Jay was climbing into the driver's seat of the squad car and Erin and Julian got in the back.

"Wow, it's been forever huh?" Jay mentioned to his partner, regarding being in a marked squad car for the first time in years.

"I like our car much more," Erin said as the Impala started. Jay did too, theirs still had the new car smell. This one vaguely smelled like... he wasn't entirely sure.

"You ready, Julian?" Jay asked, giving the little boy a smile as he looked behind him while backing out of the parking spot.

"Yes!" came an excited voice as Jay pressed a few buttons and the lights and sirens filled their senses. He sped off, throwing the passengers back against their seats.

"Let's go get some bad guys!"


End file.
